No Man's Ty: Everyone?! Neil deGrasse Tyson Is Creating A VR Game, And It Sounds Fantastic

As we all know by now No Man's Sky is a total clustercuss of unfulfilled promises, glitches and mind-numbing journeys through the romance of space. Unfortunately, what could have been the sci-fi epic to define our generation turned out to be one of the greatest "aw man that sucks" moments in games since Konami and Hideo Kojima's sensational fallout.

But you know things must have gone from fairly shoddy to outright lame when a famed astrophysicist decides to make a step into the video games industry, partly due to your game managing to fail on such a spectacular level. This particular brilliant brain belongs to the one and only Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Neil Before Zod

[Digital Trends]

The game in question is Neil deGrasse Tyson Presents: Space Odyssey, and is defined as an educational title that allows gamers the chance to "grow galaxies, develop planets, colonize worlds, nurture species, harvest, mine, explore and discover unique life-forms, and civilizations." Much like the aforementioned space epic, minus the colonizing, developing planets, growing galaxies and the existence of civilizations.

But what makes Space Odyssey stand out from No Man's Sky is the game's links to Minecraft and VR.In conversation with Digital Trends, co-creator Mark Murphy of Whatnot Entertainment discussed the game's mind-boggling mechanics:

Part of the gameplay will allow you to grow a planetary system. Its size and scope is relative to the level of challenge you would like to undertake. You can grow and mature these planets as much as you’d like, creating colonies, ports, mining structures, undertake trade of elements you discover/mine or invent or innovate.

By successfully navigating their way through scientific challenges, players will be gifted with minerals, knowledge and various other goodies to make the trek through the endless void that more comfortable.

[Digital Trends]

This all sounds immense but how does Dr. Tyson fit into the framework of the game? Well he brought his calm influence and pulling power to the helm. Murphy continues:

He is an integral part of the creative committee guiding the development of the game. While the final design decisions will fall with experienced developers; the committee is in place to advise the developers, coordinate creative developments across multiple platforms, and ensure the hard science information is accurate. He’s helped create challenges in the game, and has challenged our creative team to entertain and inspire. He has also brought forward some incredible collaborators to our efforts, an incredible team of scientists, astronauts and explorers.

...as well as Bigelow Aerospace and the National Space Society, who are also on board to ensure that the tech fits within the realms of possibility.

deGrasse is Greener

[Digital Trends]

Alongside all of these crazy mechanics and the crafting of galaxies and all that, Space Odyssey will offer you the chance of exploring other galaxies created by some of the greatest minds in science and fantastical fiction. Creative minds like George R.R. Martin, Bill Nye, Neil Gaiman, Peter Beagle and Dr. Tyson too, of course. Hopefully there will be some space left for female scientific luminaries too, huh? And, via its multiplayer system, you'll be able to explore the custom galaxies of your pals too!

Though some gamers may balk at the fact that Space Odyssey is coming to mobile alongside PC, Mac and Linux, the educational title is also aiming to have a huge presence on VR. In the interview, Murphy explained how, for example, he wanted to take gamers on a journey to Europa – Jupiter's icy moon – and delve deep through the ice into oceans that dwarf our comparatively salty puddles. How cool would that be? No pun intended.

We want people to experience these missions on HTC Vive or Oculus Rift in the home or in a science center, but we also will create a slightly different, lower resolution version for Samsung Gear and Google Cardboard so kids can experience this in the classroom.

If VR's not particularly competitive price tag renders the fad ostracized from homes across the globe, then it should most definitely be picked up the educational sector. Imagine going on a journey through the cosmos with Neil deGrasse Tyson from the relative comfort of your classroom! I would have killed for that back in my day.

If you like the sound of Space Odyssey, then get over to its home page and sign up for the beta. Okay?